Special Report

Most Famous Actor From Each State

Paul Bradbury / Getty Images

Americans love celebrities – especially movie stars. We look to them for entertainment, cultural leadership, and – for better or worse – political guidance. Any way you look at it, actors have an inordinate amount of influence in our society.

That influence generally emanates from Los Angeles and New York City – the two main hubs of the entertainment industry. Yet only a fraction of actors actually come from these cities. Our nation’s star thespians originate from all across our vast nation.

Further exploring this notion, 24/7 Wall St. has identified the most famous actor from each state. Each actor’s level of fame was determined by creating an index based Internet Movie Database popularity, Wikipedia page views, and audience ratings of his or her work.

Click here to see the most famous actor from each state.
Click here to see our methodology.

Many of the country’s most famous actors have earned their status over years of hard work. John Goodman – who was born in Affton, Missouri – has been working steadily for 43 years. He currently has 155 acting credits to his name and is the most famous actor to originate in Missouri.

Still, an entertainer’s level of fame is not directly correlated with how prolific or formally accomplished they are. A number of actors on the list are younger and have had shorter careers. These include Damon Wayans Jr., who hails from Vermont, and Matthew Fox, who comes from Wyoming. Both actors have less than 30 credits to their names yet represent their respective states on our list.

Joe Scarnici / Getty Images

1. Alabama
> Actor: Octavia Spencer
> Total acting credits: 127
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,275,846

[in-text-ad]

Rich Polk / Getty Images

2. Alaska
> Actor: Darby Stanchfield
> Total acting credits: 47
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 234,607

Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images

3. Arizona
> Actor: Emma Stone
> Total acting credits: 42
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,854,694

Courtesy of Miramax

4. Arkansas
> Actor: Billy Bob Thornton
> Total acting credits: 89
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,551,143

[in-text-ad-2]

Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

5. California
> Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio
> Total acting credits: 42
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 6,355,562

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Television Distribution

6. Colorado
> Actor: T.J. Miller
> Total acting credits: 74
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,152,671

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

7. Connecticut
> Actor: Meg Ryan
> Total acting credits: 49
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,919,595

Jeff Spicer / Getty Images

8. Delaware
> Actor: Aubrey Plaza
> Total acting credits: 65
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,522,399

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

9. Florida
> Actor: Bella Thorne
> Total acting credits: 71
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 4,260,691

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

10. Georgia
> Actor: Chloë Grace Moretz
> Total acting credits: 64
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,887,771

Courtesy of Lionsgate

11. Hawaii
> Actor: Jason Momoa
> Total acting credits: 28
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 8,764,490

[in-text-ad]

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

12. Idaho
> Actor: Aaron Paul
> Total acting credits: 76
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,715,934

DenisShumov / Shutterstock.com

13. Illinois
> Actor: Harrison Ford
> Total acting credits: 75
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 4,217,405

Courtesy of NBCUniversal Television Distribution

14. Indiana
> Actor: Jenna Fischer
> Total acting credits: 46
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,477,543

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of HBO

15. Iowa
> Actor: Michelle Monaghan
> Total acting credits: 45
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,363,389

Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

16. Kansas
> Actor: R. Lee Ermey
> Total acting credits: 124
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,841,932

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

17. Kentucky
> Actor: Johnny Depp
> Total acting credits: 84
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 5,917,490

Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images

18. Louisiana
> Actor: Reese Witherspoon
> Total acting credits: 57
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 4,810,000

Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

19. Maine
> Actor: Anna Kendrick
> Total acting credits: 49
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,978,820

[in-text-ad-2]

Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

20. Maryland
> Actor: Anna Faris
> Total acting credits: 49
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,752,956

BAKOUNINE / Shutterstock.com

21. Massachusetts
> Actor: Matt Damon
> Total acting credits: 79
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,383,071

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

22. Michigan
> Actor: Kristen Bell
> Total acting credits: 92
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,684,761

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

23. Minnesota
> Actor: Chris Pratt
> Total acting credits: 49
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 5,386,720

Rachel Murray / Getty Images

24. Mississippi
> Actor: Lacey Chabert
> Total acting credits: 135
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,638,045

[in-text-ad-2]

vipflash / Shutterstock.com

25. Missouri
> Actor: John Goodman
> Total acting credits: 155
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,519,371

Andreas Rentz / Getty Images

26. Montana
> Actor: Michelle Williams
> Total acting credits: 54
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 021,244

[in-text-ad]

Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

27. Nebraska
> Actor: Jaime King
> Total acting credits: 56
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 809,105

Courtesy of Lionsgate

28. Nevada
> Actor: Jena Malone
> Total acting credits: 70
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 794,757

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

29. New Hampshire
> Actor: Mandy Moore
> Total acting credits: 70
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,351,224

[in-text-ad-2]

Sgt. Michael Connors - 302nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment / Wikimedia Commons

30. New Jersey
> Actor: Zoe Saldana
> Total acting credits: 57
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,386,247

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

31. New Mexico
> Actor: Demi Moore
> Total acting credits: 60
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,121,681

[in-text-ad]

Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

32. New York
> Actor: Scarlett Johansson
> Total acting credits: 62
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 6,436,034

Christopher Polk / Getty Images

33. North Carolina
> Actor: Evan Rachel Wood
> Total acting credits: 50
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,671,248

Christopher Polk / Getty Images

34. North Dakota
> Actor: Leslie Bibb
> Total acting credits: 69
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,738,659

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

35. Ohio
> Actor: Maggie Grace
> Total acting credits: 47
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 920,080

Rich Fury / Getty Images

36. Oklahoma
> Actor: Brad Pitt
> Total acting credits: 80
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 4,825,661

[in-text-ad]

Courtesy of Fine Line Features

37. Oregon
> Actor: River Phoenix
> Total acting credits: 25
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,686,290

Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com

38. Pennsylvania
> Actor: Will Smith
> Total acting credits: 75
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 5,144,554

Courtesy of DreamWorks Distribution

39. Rhode Island
> Actor: Mena Suvari
> Total acting credits: 70
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 869,203

[in-text-ad-2]

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

40. South Carolina
> Actor: Chadwick Boseman
> Total acting credits: 30
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 5,112,603

Emma McIntyre / Getty Images

41. South Dakota
> Actor: January Jones
> Total acting credits: 29
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 1,259,319

[in-text-ad]

Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

42. Tennessee
> Actor: Morgan Freeman
> Total acting credits: 122
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 4,091,654

Courtesy of HBO

43. Texas
> Actor: Woody Harrelson
> Total acting credits: 93
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,827,378

Monika Fellner / Getty Images

44. Utah
> Actor: Roseanne Barr
> Total acting credits: 31
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,218,052

[in-text-ad-2]

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

45. Vermont
> Actor: Damon Wayans Jr.
> Total acting credits: 27
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 612,103

Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com

46. Virginia
> Actor: Sandra Bullock
> Total acting credits: 57
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,578,143

[in-text-ad]

Christopher Polk / Getty Images

47. Washington
> Actor: Jeffrey Dean Morgan
> Total acting credits: 67
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 3,071,153

Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images

48. West Virginia
> Actor: Brad Dourif
> Total acting credits: 168
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 768,436

Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images

49. Wisconsin
> Actor: Mark Ruffalo
> Total acting credits: 68
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 2,161,641

[in-text-ad-2]

Juan Naharro Gimenez / Getty Images

50. Wyoming
> Actor: Matthew Fox
> Total acting credits: 23
> Annual Wikipedia page views: 503,363

Methodology:

To determine the most famous actor from each state, 24/7 Wall St. created an index based on each actor’s STARmeter ranking on the Internet Movie Database, the number of audience user ratings of all films and television shows in which the actors appear, and the number of page views of each actor’s Wikipedia pages from May 2017 to May 2018. To be considered, each actor had to appear in the top 10,000 rankings on IMDb’s STARmeter.

Each actor’s place of birth was the reference point for determining where they are from. Actors who have gained the majority of their fame for reasons other than acting, such as Meghan Markle, were excluded from consideration.

Want to Retire Early? Start Here (Sponsor)

Want retirement to come a few years earlier than you’d planned? Or are you ready to retire now, but want an extra set of eyes on your finances?

Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply clicking here you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help you build your plan to retire early. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.

Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.